Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth

I’ll be the first to admit it— I love my sweets and there is rarely a day when I don’t treat myself to some type of yummy dessert. Long ago, I stopped beating myself up about indulging my “sweet tooth.” Rather than fighting it and seeing it as a breach of willpower, I’ve learned to accept my cravings. In fact, research that shows that feeling satiated and satisfied with the food you eat is key to successful weight-loss and maintenance. So rather than depriving myself, I’ve learned to work with my “sweet tooth” in a way that’s satisfying without breaking the calorie-bank. Even when you are trying to lose weight, including and planning for a small treat will help you stay on track with your overall goal.

5 Ideas for Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth

Plan ahead. If you know that you crave a treat at 2 in the afternoon, have something that satisfies you on hand. Individual items such as a low-calorie Popsicle, a 100-calorie snack pack or a piece of fruit are better choices than candy or cookies where it’s hard to limit yourself to just one or two.

Try Greek style yogurt to satisfy the yearning for the creamy mouth feel of high-fat ice cream or puddings. Price Chopper carries several brands of low-fat Greek yogurts that have a rich & creamy mouth feel and most are less than 150 calories for a 6 oz. serving.

Satisfy at least one of your daily sweet cravings with fruit—whatever is in season and whatever fruit you like best. Give it a try; you’ll be surprised at how sweet fruit actually is.

The power of small has big payoffs when it comes to eating sweets during weight loss or maintenance. Rather than eating the whole thing, serve yourself a bite-size portion (1 ½ by 1 ½ inch) of a cake or bar dessert. Or stock your freezer with small serving or 100 calories individually wrapped frozen novelties.

Remember, we eat with our eyes first. Individual portions served in stemware glasses or the “good china” usually reserved for holidays, adds to the mystique of the sweet indulgence and makes it feel special.